Month: May 2012

Norberto Keppe‘s book, Liberation of the People, is the most complete book I know about the pathology of power. It explores the psychological condition that lies behind the lust for power, and shows clearly that this drive is most times fueled by a pathological desire for self-service and narcissism, not for the common good.

“It is extremely important to perceive that the established powers have been organized so as to control the will of the people, paralyzing their capacity to act,” Norberto Keppe writes in this profound book.

In other books, Keppe writes forcefully about secret groupings of powerful people acting in the shadows as constituting the basis of all social sickness. Here, he’s talking about the Bilderbergers and the Trilateral and the secret societies at Yale and all that mess.

And just saying that pushes us into the territory of conspiracy theories for some. I mean, what’s next? Questioning the moon landing?

But Keppe’s voice is not strident or self-righteous. Instead, it’s a fresh breeze of sanity into this minefield of subterfuge.

Rockefeller and the Shattered American Dream, today on Thinking with Somebody Else’s Head.

Broach the subject of corruption with most people, and there’s an almost instant reaction. We understandably get apoplectic about the cases of corruption evident in corporations like BP or rogue traders like Nick Leeson. I even remember some self-righteous media pundits lamenting the blow to baseball represented by Pete Rose betting on the game.

We all get irate when facing these levels of unethical behavior, or even when a loved one betrays a trust. But this is when it would be timely to remember Shakespeare’s counsel in moments of self-righteous indignation: Methinks you doth protest too much.

It’s well known in psychology that we can often tee off on behavior outside that we also partake in, and that can be a tough pill to swallow. It takes all the honesty and virtue we can muster to see that external conduct as a mirror reflecting back our own sins. But it is exactly this that’s required of us today. Because one thing we must admit – if the world has gone astray, chances are pretty good we’ve contributed to that.

A Cure for Corruption, this time on Thinking with Somebody Else’s Head.

The murky world of shadows that constitutes modern leadership is not a new thing, of course. The TV mini-series “The Tudors” lays out in all its deceit and subterfuge the nest of vipers that was the British Royal Court of the 15th and 16th centuries. Ancient Rome was no picnic either from all accounts. And Chinese warlords scheming to be Taipan operated within complex webs of treachery.

Not much has changed. We’re inverted, so we still practice to deceive and think, in our boundless delusion, that it will all come out ok in the end.

It’s been that way for centuries. So prevalent is it that we could be excused for thinking that political gamesmanship is just human nature – whether it’s office competitors vying for the bosses favor, or contestants on a reality TV show pacting to get another sent home, or unelected bank leaders meeting in secret to decide world monetary policy.
Treachery and cunning, though, in all their proliferation, are far from what it means to be truly human, and this disinverted view deserves more headlines than it’s gotten. Allow us to do that a little today.

Leadership and Spirituality, today on Thinking with Somebody Else’s Head.